Chapter 74
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The moment the attack landed, it would reverse the flow of Magical Power and return it to the sender.
That was the function of the Fragment of Illos.
The power that had been about to strike Odelia's heart, the power that had been trying to distort the flow of 'Purification Power,' was now being returned to the caster.
At first, nothing seemed to happen.
But the next moment, a woman's eyes widened.
It was Beloa.
And the Fragment of Illos began to distort not the 'Purification Power' that Odelia possessed, but the flow of 'Mana' that Beloa possessed.
At the same time.
"Aaaagh!"
A scream erupted.
Everyone's eyes turned to Beloa at once.
A blue aura of Mana began to seep from her fingertips.
At the same time, sparks flew from the back of her hand, where the magic circuit was etched.
Only then did some of the experts in the crowd realize.
"...Good heavens, this is!"
"A Mana Overload Precursor! We have to stop it now...!"
Beloa's eyes widened at the completely unexpected situation.
When using her own body as a medium, the side effects she had anticipated were minimal.
Numbness, imbalanced breathing, temporary Magical Power exhaustion, things like that...
Even if she failed, that was all it would be.
But the rampage of 'Purification Power' that she had tried to inflict on Odelia was being reflected back as a rampage of 'Mana.'
She had never even heard of such a thing.
But it had already happened.
'Ah...'
It's already too late...
Beloa couldn't withstand the backlash of Magical Power and instinctively stumbled backward.
Blue veins began to pop out on her bloodless face.
The chandelier that had been swaying slightly above her head suddenly began to shake violently, making a loud noise.
As if an earthquake had struck, the entire banquet hall was temporarily shaken by the magical vibrations.
And soon...
Kwaaaang—!!!
A Mana Overload occurred.
The Mana that had started from Beloa's hand began to rampage like a beast.
"Get down!"
Odelia shouted, and the guests covered their heads and fell to the floor.
A lightning-like twisted beam spread out from Beloa, and one of the pillars in the banquet hall snapped and tilted.
Fortunately, a magician prevented the pillar from collapsing, but the damage did not end there.
With a tremendous roar, the marble floor began to crack, and the cracks spread rapidly.
The chandelier tilted, and shards of glass rained down, and a shockwave close to a Mana shockwave shattered the surrounding objects.
"I-It's collapsing!"
"Run away!"
The nobles screamed and scattered in panic.
"Activate the defense Magic Circle!"
Ludville ordered.
For a moment, the magicians and Magic Engineers, unable to keep up with the sudden situation, regained their senses and began to cast defensive magic.
They activated the Magic Circle that had been installed in the banquet hall.
At the same time, a shield was placed on each of the guests.
The shards of glass and debris that fell from the ceiling fell onto the shield, absorbing the impact and shattering into pieces.
"Hoo..."
The guests breathed a sigh of relief, stroking their chests.
As the magicians and Magic Engineers chanted spells and cast restoration magic, the banquet hall slowly began to return to its original state.
They had put out the immediate fire, preventing the imminent collapse, but...
The guests murmured.
"...Is anyone hurt?"
"No, I don't think so. Fortunately, His Highness responded quickly..."
"But..."
Everyone's eyes turned to Beloa.
In the middle of the vortex, she was crouching and frozen.
Her unfocused, pale blue eyes were no longer normal, and her lips were trembling, blue and almost black.
Mana was ignoring her will and trying to swallow her.
"W-What on earth happened? What suddenly happened to the Princess?"
"A Mana Overload. Why suddenly an Overload..."
Then a magician stepped forward with a hardened expression.
"Do not approach. The Princess is in a dangerous state right now. She may cause a secondary Overload."
"Eep?! S-Such a thing...!"
"It seems like something went wrong while trying to use magic... If it's an Overload of this scale, it must have been quite high-level magic."
The magician looked at Beloa suspiciously.
Suddenly trying to use high-level magic at a banquet and causing an Overload, it was suspicious no matter how much of a Cardel person she was.
But before interrogating the Princess, stopping her Overload was the priority.
"Prince Gawain Cardell, are you here?"
The magician looked around and searched for Gawain.
Everyone's eyes turned to Gawain, who was standing at the end of the banquet hall.
Whether he had intended to appear like a savior at the crucial moment, or whether he was simply recoiling from an unexpected variable.
He was standing in the corner with a stiff expression.
It could be seen that the vassals of the North, who were stationed around him, were glancing back and forth between Gawain and Beloa, whispering.
"Prince, please come here quickly! Ancient Magic will be able to quell the Overload!"
Ancient Magic.
The power to purify everything defined as impurity and evil in the world.
Among them, of course, was the 'Magical Power Backlash Side Effect.'
In other words, Ancient Magic could quell the Overload.
Only then did relief spread across the faces of those who had been worried about a secondary Overload.
"Whew, now that I think about it, Gawain is here. I was worried for nothing..."
"Hey, you. Don't loiter there in front and clear the way for the Prince to come."
Everyone's expectant gaze was focused on Gawain.
Odelia stood in the center of the chaos and looked at Beloa for a moment.
In a brief moment, with eyes filled with pity.
There was no room for sympathy since she was just getting back what she had tried to do to Odelia, but...
Knowing that she would soon be betrayed miserably.
"..."
Gawain Cardell.
He was a skilled actor.
He knew what kind of expression he should have in this situation.
First, he had to show a sense of urgency, worried about his sister's safety.
And while making a serious expression as if he knew the seriousness of the situation, he also had to reassure people with a gentle smile.
That was the image of the perfect savior that Gawain Cardell had been acting as.
But his mind was blank.
...This was a flow that was not in the plan at all.
Originally, Odelia should have been causing an Overload by now.
And it had to be a thoroughly controlled Overload.
Beloa was supposed to be using herself as a medium, manipulating the flow of Magical Power from behind with the Chaos Stone in her hand!
Gawain was to appear as a 'savior,' pretending to stop the Overload, and Beloa was to suppress the Overload with the Chaos Stone, making it seem as if he had quelled everything.
That was their plan.
They intended to let Odelia cause an Overload and destroy the Ducal Palace, spreading the perception that her Purification ability was such an unstable power.
They were going to frame it as if this marriage had harmed the North.
But all those scenarios had gone down the drain.
Beloa had caused an Overload.
Even if they shifted the blame to a servant they had planted as a spy later, the problem was now.
The earnest gazes that were staring at him.
The eyes that hoped he would perform a miracle.
But...
Gawain cannot stop Beloa's Overload.
...Because Ancient Magic does not exist in this world.
'Damn it...'
Gawain's smile became increasingly awkward.
The corners of his lips were trembling, and an undisguised agitation surfaced in his eyes.
'How...did she do it?'
And what should he do?
